MED Prof Wins Gates Foundation Condom Challenge

Building a softened condom: MED Professor Ducksoo Kim has won a $100,000 extend from a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to rise a self-lubricating “next-generation” condom. Photo by Flickr writer Kerry J.

Condoms are a cheap, zodiacally permitted means of preventing neglected pregnancy and shortening a widespread of HIV and other intimately transmitted diseases. But condoms aren’t scarcely as effective as they should be for one sheer reason: many group don’t like regulating them. So as partial of a ongoing Grand Challenges Explorations Programs, a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation asked researchers to come adult with a “next generation” of masculine condoms that would be easier to use and safety or raise passionate pleasure. The substructure awarded proviso one grants to rise an softened condom to 11 researchers, one a Boston University School of Medicine radiologist whose group has perceived a $100,000 extend to pursue growth of a self-lubricating condom that would not usually be some-more durable and some-more resilient, though would make stable sex some-more pleasurable.

Ducksoo Kim, executive of a vascular and interventional radiology brotherhood during Boston Medical Center, will lead a project, along with Karen Buch, a BMC third-year radiology resident. They are operative to emanate condoms with a cloaking of superhydrophilic nanoparticles—tiny particles that trap water. The outcome would be a condom that would concede some-more attraction and make a use of lubricants unnecessary, says Kim. Like a other winning proposals, that embody a “reconstituted collagen” condom done from beef, a gradually tightening condom, and a condom assembled of a ultrathin bright CO famous as graphene, a self-lubricating pattern would be a poignant change in a product that hasn’t developed all that most in centuries of use.

BU Today asked Kim what drew him to a plea and what it will take to ideal and furnish a condom that lubricates itself.

BU Today: How did we turn meddlesome in building a softened condom?

Kim: As physicians, we have dedicated a careers to assisting a patients by a diagnosis and diagnosis of disease. Our investigate efforts have a identical concentration on providing softened and safer medical inclination that would concede for progressing illness showing or forestall illness transmission. This devise was a healthy fit for us given a investigate focus.

What does winning a Gates Foundation plea meant to we and your colleagues?

We feel really respected and happy that a innovative thought was famous by this prestigious grant. And we are looking to combine with other BU scientists, and we entice them to hit us during dukim@bu.edu. The $100,000 endowment is for proviso one, and we can request for a follow-up extend value $1 million in sequence to serve a project.

Is your seductiveness in nanoparticles surprising for a radiologist? Can we explain how your margin relates to this line of research?

Not surprising during all. Radiologists are behaving roughly each singular procession regulating hydropholic devices, that promote a procedures and urge their technical success and clinical outcome.

What are a vital problems with a stream era of condoms?

The polymer or latex materials used in a stream era do not have this hydrophilic cloaking and so emanate poignant attrition and shearing forces. The use of additional lubricants to cloak stream condoms is an combined step with increasing cost to users.

How would a nano-lubricated condom be an improvement?

The hydrophilic cloaking drastically alters a automatic army and decreases attrition to urge a functionality. That minimizes mishap to physique tissues and eventually lowers rates of breakage. This underline would diminution a rates of infection smoothness and diminution a rate of neglected pregnancy.

How does a hydrophilic cloaking work?

The hydrophilic cloaking traps H2O so that it reduces attrition between a condom and tissue.

What are some of a other applications of nanoparticle technology?

The use of nanoparticles in medicine and biological sciences is during an all-time high. This record was primarily detected and polished in a engineering sector, and it has a flourishing change in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and drug delivery, gene therapy, contrariety agents, hankie engineering, nanoscale biopchips, and microsurgical technology.

Would a nonlubricated condom demeanour opposite from standard condoms?

No. The hydrophilic cloaking would not change a altogether demeanour of a standard condom.

Would a condoms be some-more costly to produce?

Not during all. The idea of this condom is to be of low cost to users to boost condom use.

Would these condoms discharge a need for lubricants?

Yes, that will be one of a vital benefits. It will be some-more convenient, accessible and prepared for use but a need for additional lubricants. It will equivocate intensity decay of germs from primer focus of those lubricants.

What are a obstacles to building and mass-producing nano-lubricated condoms for bland use?

The categorical obstacles are a excellence of materials and additional estimate of a cloaking materials to be concordant with mass prolongation techniques, and progressing high quality.

How do we devise to exam a condoms’ strength and durability?

There are industrial standards that need electrical stream contrast for a existence of any porous defects (holes or tears) and a exam that involves acceleration and deflation of a condom hundreds or thousands of times to exam a strength and durability.

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